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Five  Tears  of  Focal  Study 
Under  Fernando  Michelena 

By 

JnCARIA  zANTONIA  FIELD 


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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/fiveyearsofvocalOOfielrich 


FIVE  YEARS  OF  VOCAL  STUDY 

UNDER 

FERNANDO  MICHELENA 

By 
MARIA  ANTONIA  FIELD 


PRIVATELY  PRINTED 


COPYRIGHT  I922 

by 

MARIA  ANTONIA  FIELD 


DEDICATION 

to  the  gentle  memory  of  fernando  michelena, 

kind,  noble  teacher,  and  friend  of  myself  and 

family,  this  little  sketch  of  my  vocal  work 

under  his  tutelage  is  sincerely  dedicated 

Maria  Antonia  Field 


475848 


FOREWORD 

1V/TY  FIVE  years  of  vocal  study  under  the  late 
*■*■*  Fernando  Michelena,  may  be  described  in  brief, 
as  five  years  of  earnest  but  extremely  pleasant  work; 
five  years  which  meant  more  to  my  health  and  educa- 
tion, than  any  other  study  or  association.  I  now 
realize  more  than  ever,  the  value  of  those  all  too  brief 
years;  in  fact,  to  be  exact,  it  lacked  about  one  month 
of  being  five  years ;  for  I  took  my  first  lesson  on  April 
7,  1916,  and  continued  until  the  time  of  Michelena's 
death,  which  occurred  on  March  4,  1921 ;  having  taken 
my  last  lesson  a  few  days  before  his  untimely  and 
sudden  passing.  I  will  add  here,  that  Fernando 
Michelena  was  ray  first  and  last  teacher;  for  prior  to 
taking  lessons  from  him,  I  had  merely  investigated  the 
method  of  another  teacher  who  happened  to  live  in 
my  home  town,  very  quickly  seeing,  untutored  though 
I  was,  that  she  lacked  the  requisites  of  a  finished 
vocalist.  Immediately  I  gave  up  all  thought  of  taking 
lessons  from  her,  and  began  my  first  instruction, 
wholly  untrained,  with  the  master  Michelena. 


HANDICAPS  DURING  MY  FIRST  TWO 
YEARS  OF  STUDY 

SYNOPSIS  OF  WORK  ACCOMPLISHED  IN  FIVE  YEARS 

I  WOULD  feel  very  diffident  about  talking  so  much 
about  myself,  as  I  do  in  these  pages,  were  it  not 
for  the  fact  that  this  sketch  is  merely  intended  as  a 
private  publication,  to  be  read  mostly,  at  least,  by  a 
few  friends,  and  also  that  my  primary  object  in  writing 
this  is  for  a  personal  remembrance  of  my  tutelage 
under  the  Master,  Fernando  Michelena,  endeavoring 
also  to  draw  a  "pen  picture"  of  him,  as  an  example 
of  a  perfect  teacher  and  artist,  in  order  that  if  this 
sketch  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  some  vocal 
aspirant  who  may  be  seeking  a  competent  instructor, 
the  correct  information  may  be  drawn  (if  desired)  of 
the  marks  by  which  the  real  may  be  distinguished 
from  either  the  counterfeit  or  poorly  equipped  teacher. 
I  also  venture  to  give  a  brief  account  of  my  personal 
handicaps  and  difficulties  during  the  first  two  years 
of  my  work,  because  the  joy  of  mastering  difficulties 
and  accomplishing  something  in  spite  of  them  is 
greater,  when  we  recall  the  hard  beginning.  What 
I  relate  regarding  my  handicaps,  may  not  sound  at  all 
big,  especially  as  I  eliminate  all  details;  but  do  we 
stop  to  consider  that  a  myriad  trifling  annoyances 


&  "  FIVE   YEARS   OF   VOCAL   STUDY 

may  retard  progress,  depress  the  spirit  and  cut  into 
the  fine  sensibilities,  more  than  one  really  great  trial 
which  comes  and  goes  and  for  which  we  receive  our 
share  of  sympathy  because  more  readily  understood? 
It  is  said  that  "every  rose  has  its  thorns,"  so  great 
blessings  and  everything  destined  to  endure,  must  be 
cradled  with  trials  of  what  nature  soever  they  be; 
hence  when  kind  Providence  led  me  to  place  myself 
under  the  tutelage  of  such  a  distinguished  master  as 
Fernando  Michelena,  and  while  I  did  not  lack  many 
other  advantages,  such  as  pleasant  home  surroundings, 
facilities  to  go  fairly  often  from  Monterey  (my  home 
town)  to  San  Francisco  to  take  my  lessons,  etc.,  I 
had  other  difficulties  when  I  began  my  vocal  study. 
First  of  all,  I  was  not  physically  strong,  and  suffered 
frequently  from  heavy  and  obstinate  colds ;  gradually, 
however,  I  became  more  and  more  rugged,  and  the 
propensity  to  colds  disappeared,  so  that  today  I  rarely 
catch  one,  and  if  I  do,  I  quickly  get  rid  of  it.  To  my 
excellent  vocal  exercises,  correct  diaphramic  breathing, 
and  stimulus  caused  by  interest  in  my  work,  I  give, 
at  least,  most  of  the  credit  of  this.  During  the  first 
two  years  of  my  work,  I  also  suffered  numberless  un- 
pleasantnesses and  discouragements,  in  the  relating  of 
which  I  could  fill  many  pages,  but  there  is  no  need 
for  that,  especially  as  most  of  them  came  from  insig- 
nificant sources.  I  will  only  say  that  while  such 
things  have  a  tendency  to  depress  a  sensitive  beginner, 
especially  if  already  handicapped  by  none  too  robust 


UNDER  FERNANDO   MICHELENA  9 

health,  still  I  had  sufficient  will  power  to  work  all  the 
harder  and  not  allow  anything  whatever  to  thwart 
me  in  the  study  I  had  always  loved.  My  maternal 
grandfather,  Prof.  Rafael  Danglada,  was  California's 
first  professional  musician,  coming  here  from  his  native 
Spain  in  1850;  my  mother  inherited  his  musical  talent, 
and  my  grandmother  had  a  sweet  contralto  voice,  so 
perhaps  I  came  naturally  by  my  love  for  song.  From 
a  child  I  was  especially  fond  of  opera,  and  a  strain 
from  most  any  of  the  operas  always  arrested  my  atten- 
tion, also  I  loved  the  display  of  feeling  and  noble 
emotions  in  song.  I  hated  stiffness  in  singers.  When 
I  began  studying,  a  certain  few  self-constituted  ad- 
visers told  me  I  must  remember  I  was  only  studying 
to  "learn  to  sing  a  few  little  songs  sweetly  and  never 
think  of  anything  beyond  that."  I  said  absolutely 
nothing,  but  kept  to  myself  the  secret  ambition  of 
learning  operatic  roles.  Perchance  I  may  never  use 
my  operatic  roles  on  the  stage,  but  little  we  know  what 
is  before  us;  I  may  yet  have  need  of  them,  and  if  not, 
what  a  satisfaction  it  is  for  any  of  us  to  feel  we  could 
do  a  thing  if  we  either  had  to  or  wanted  to ;  and  if  such 
a  thing  never  came  into  my  life,  the  pleasure  and 
educational  value  of  learning  those  noble  compositions 
of  great  masters  is  worth  the  work.  If  I  may  be  for- 
given for  speaking  so  much  about  myself,  I  will  say 
that  when  I  asked  Fernando  Michelena  if  I  could 
ever  dare  to  think  of  learning  a  single  operatic  role, 
he  turned  to  me  as  calmly  as  if  I  had  asked  him  if  I 


10  FIVE   YEARS   OF   VOCAL   STUDY 

could  ever  learn  "Home,  Sweet  Home,"  "Why  not?" 
he  said;  "Has  not  the  Creator  given  you  brains  and  a 
vocal  apparatus?"  And  when  I  told  him  I  did  not  care 
to  study  for  mere  pastime  (only  to  learn  a  "few  little 
songs")  but  to  become  as  good  a  singer  as  was  possible 
for  me  to  become,  he  gently  told  me,  "It  is  the  only 
attitude  which  will  enable  you  to  succeed  in  the  study 
of  vocal  or  of  anything  else.  Those  who  only  aim  at 
mediocrity  will  never  be  more  than  mediocre,  if  that 
much." 

I  happen  to  have  a  retentive  memory,  and  having 
spoken  Spanish  from  childhood,  I  never  found  diffi- 
culty in  mastering  the  pronunciation  or  accent  of 
any  of  the  other  Latin  languages,  of  which  I  quickly 
acquired  a  knowledge.  With  these  advantages  I 
began  paddling  Donizetti's  "Lucia  di  Lamermoor" 
when  I  had  scarcely  been  studying  one  year,  and 
learned  the  role  of  Lucia  (in  Italian)  in  about  three 
months.  The  trills,  and  a  few  of  its  more  exacting 
cadenzas,  I  learned  a  little  later  when  more  advanced 
in  my  work,  and  therefore  no  strain  would  ensue  on 
my  vocal  ligaments.  The  quality  of  my  voice  is  the 
lyric  coloratura  soprano,  so  in  my  opera  work  I 
learned  the  leading  lyric  or  coloratura  roles.  After 
"Lucia"  I  studied  Balfe's  "Bohemian  Girl"  (in 
English)  then  Leoncovallo's  "Pagliacci"  (in  Italian); 
these  three  I  learned  thoroughly  (admitting,  of  course, 
that  we  can  always  improve  in  our  work).  Then,  I 
fairly   well   learned    Planquette's    "Chimes   of   Nor- 


UNDER  FERNANDO   MICHELENA  11 

mandy"  (in  English),  Verdi's  "Rigoletto,"  and  Verdi's 
"La  Traviata"  (the  two  latter  in  Italian).  I  was 
beginning  Puccini's  "Madama  Butterfly,"  when  my 
lamented  teacher  died.  I  have  also  a  goodly  reper- 
toire of  sacred  selections  (which  I  sing  both  in  Latin 
and  the  vernacular),  arias  and  classic  as  well  as  simple 
ballads  (which  I  sing  in  Spanish,  French,  Italian  and 
English).  Donizetti's  "Lucia,"  which  I  learned  first 
and  amid  my  beginner's  difficulties  and  annoyances, 
has  always  remained  my  favorite  opera.  It  is  the  one 
I  can  set  aside  for  months  and  not  forget,  from  the 
Cavatina  in  Act  I  to  the  "Mad  Scene"  in  Act  III, 
every  part  was  deeply  stamped  in  my  mind.  One 
great  advantage  of  studying  with  Fernando  Michelena, 
was  that  besides  being  a  thorough  vocal  master,  he 
was  a  celebrity  of  the  operatic  stage,  and  not  only  gave 
me  beautiful  cadenzas  for  the  various  arias,  but  made 
my  work  exceedingly  interesting  with  anecdotes  and 
intimate  details  of  his  association  with  other  celebri- 
ties, with  whom  he  sang  the  very  operas  he  was 
teaching  me.  Emma  Yuch,  Emma  Nevada,  Emma 
Abbott  and  Nellie  Melba  are  among  the  prime  donne 
with  whom  he  sang  the  leading  tenor  roles  (the  quality 
of  his  voice  having  been  dramatic  tenor).  With  Clara 
Louisa  Kellogg  he  did  some  concert  work.  And  how 
pure  and  resonant  was  his  voice  production,  how  per- 
fect his  trill,  how  faultless  his  enunciation,  and  how 
exquisitely  delicate  his  nuances  to  the  day  he  died! 
When  I  began  taking  lessons,  I  could  scarcely  make 


12      FIVE  YEARS  OF  VOCAL  STUDY 

or  sing  the  pitch  of  sol  (High  G),  in  three  years  I 
could  not  only  make  but  sustain  re  in  alt  (High  D) 
with  perfect  ease,  and  now  mi  in  alt  (E  in  alt). 

As  to  practice,  I  could  hardly  practice  more  than 
ten  minutes  at  a  time  without  fatigue;  now,  granting 
that  I  am  in  good  physical  shape,  I  can  sing  one  hour 
at  a  time,  although  I  scarcely  ever  attempt  it.  My 
practice  periods  are  from  twenty  minutes  to  one-half 
hour  at  a  time,  and  altogether  I  never  practice  more 
than  one  hour  and  a  half  a  day;  although  I  may  over 
and  above  that  time  take  a  song  or  aria  and  memorize 
the  words  without  singing  them,  or  allow  a  melody 
to  run  through  my  mind ;  read  the  history  of  an  opera 
or  a  biographical  sketch  of  the  composer. 

Of  course  my  real  work  is  accomplished  at  the  piano, 
at  my  regular  practice,  and  the  memorizing  of  the 
words  of  a  piece  is  done  simultaneously  with  the  sing- 
ing of  the  melody,  or  at  least  playing  the  piece,  going 
over  the  words,  mentally;  (the  last  named  is  a  good 
way  to  accomplish  at  least  something,  when  a  cold 
or  fatigue  prevents  one  from  indulging  in  more  serious 
practice.) 

As  I  maintain  we  can  always  improve,  and  that  in 
my  case  much  of  my  early  work  was  somewhat  handi- 
capped, I  had  no  thought  of  discontinuing  my  vocal 
lessons  with  my  late  master;  but  since  the  All-Merciful 
Creator  willed  otherwise,  I  am  proud  of  and  thankful 
for  the  five  years  of  study  I  did  have  with  him.  It 
has  been  said   that  among  the  hundreds  of  vocal 


UNDER  FERNANDO   MICHELENA  13 

teachers  in  New  York  City,  there  is  hardly  one  dozen 
who  are  really  masters.  Can  we  say  they  are  abundant 
in  the  West?  Many  conscientious  and  good  singing 
teachers,  no  doubt,  but  how  many  masters  with  the 
advantages  of  experience  and  a  distinguished  career? 
It  would  be  rash  to  say  none,  but  are  they  many?  Is 
it  any  wonder,  then,  that  many  of  the  late  Michelena's 
pupils  having  tasted  the  worth  of  his  instructions, 
should  have  decided  to  seek  no  other  teacher,  but  if 
having  studied  with  him  at  least  long  enough  to 
acquire  a  good  foundation  should  simply  continue 
practicing  and  developing  "by  themselves"  the 
method  they  learned  from  him? 

During  the  third  year  of  my  vocal  training,  my 
mother  presented  me  with  a  beautiful  Steinway  parlor 
grand  piano.  Previous  to  that  I  had  practiced  on 
mother's  old  square  Steinway,  which  was  in  remark- 
ably good  condition.  I  always  liked  the  Steinway 
pianos  and  believe  them  to  be  the  best,  especially  for 
vocal  work.  A  piano  should  not  be  placed  so  close  to 
the  wall  as  to  touch  it,  but  slightly  away  from  it;  nor 
should  too  many  pictures,  ornaments,  or  other  objects 
be  placed  on  the  piano,  as  they  mar  the  resonance; 
hangings  should  also  be  used  sparingly  in  the  practice 
room,  as  they  interfere  with  the  acoustics,  while  a 
damp  or  sunless  room  is  bad  in  the  extreme — for 
singer  and  piano  as  well. 


14  FIVE   YEARS   OF   VOCAL   STUDY 


AN  INSIGHT  INTO  MICHELENA'S  METHOD 

OF  TEACHING  AND  SOME  OF 

HIS  VOCAL  THEORIES 

DERCHANCE  the  keynote  of  Fernando  Michelena's 
■*•  teaching  may  be  said  to  have  been  simplicity.  How 
often  he  would  say :  "Apparently  we  are  doing  nothing, 
in  reality  we  are  accomplishing  a  great  deal."  And  so 
it  ever  proved.  His  method  was  so  simple  because  it 
was  so  natural.  " Cobweb  rules  which  amount  to 
nothing,"  he  would  call  the  numberless  frills  and 
foolish  theories  which  captivate  so  many.  Another 
characteristic  of  Michelena  was  a  marvelous  patience 
and  evenness  of  disposition.  I  am  sure  none  of  his 
pupils  can  say  he  ever  displayed  the  least  shadow  of 
impatience  at  a  lesson,  no  matter  how  often  he  had  to 
repeat  a  thing  or  what  "bete  noir"  a  pupil  would 
encounter  in  an  exercise  or  aria.  He  demanded  per- 
fection in  his  pupils'  work,  was  careful  of  the  least 
details,  and  the  slightest  mistake  never  escaped  him, 
but  all  instructions  and  corrections  were  given  in  the 
most  affable  manner.  "I  do  not  believe  in  it,"  he  once 
said  to  me,  in  speaking  of  displays  of  temper  and  im- 
patience, "and  the  teacher  who  indulges  in  such  things 
is  a  vulgarian,  nothing  less."  Michelena  believed  that 
any  one  with   a   normal  vocal   apparatus  and   not 


UNDER  FERNANDO   MICHELENA  IS 

devoid  of  musical  sense  and  intelligence,  could  learn 
to  produce  beautiful  voice,  no  matter  how  many- 
faults  he  or  she  might  have  to  overcome  as  a  beginner, 
and  cited  the  fact  that  not  all  the  excellent  singers 
whom  we  admire,  or  who  have  been  admired  in  other 
generations,  were  gifted  with  a  natural  aptitude  to 
sing  beautifully,  nor  started  under  promising  circum- 
stances, yet  with  proper  training  and  perseverance 
became  beautiful  singers  and  often  surpassed  others 
more  naturally  gifted.  Michelena  never  flattered  a 
pupil:  "That  is  much  better,"  "Good,"  or  "You  are 
improving,"  were  about  all  the  compliments  his  pupils 
heard  from  him;  but  in  speaking  with  others  he  was 
most  appreciative  of  his  pupils  and  their  efforts,  and 
proud  of  their  successes.  His  method  was  drawn  from 
the  best  of  the  Spanish  and  Italian  schools;  and  a 
thorough  course  in  solfeggio  he  considered  essential; 
he  started  teaching  solfeggio  from  the  first  lesson  and 
never  dropped  it.  To  the  disregard  of  solfeggio  or  its 
superficial  teaching,  he  blamed  the  poor  articulation 
and  enunciation  so  common  nowadays  in  so  many 
singers.  Also  for  acquiring  accuracy  in  time,  and  for 
learning  the  various  marks  of  expression  or  nuances, 
solfeggio  is  unequaled,  he  taught,  and  his  belief  is 
shared  by  the  most  eminent  masters.  "Every  good 
singer  is  necessarily  a  good  solfeggist,"  he  would  say. 
He  deplored  the  deterioration  in  the  art  of  song, 
especially  of  the  old  bel  canto,  and  with  a  tinge  of 
sadness    once    mentioned    how    different    were    the 


16      FIVE  YEARS  OF  VOCAL  STUDY 

audiences  of  today  from  those  of  former  years,  inas- 
much as  they  sometimes  accept  mediocrity  which 
former  audiences  would  not  endure.  Happily,  however, 
many  see  a  growing  appreciation  for  fine  artists,  mak- 
ing its  appearance  once  more. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  importance  which  Michelena 
attached  to  solfeggio,  but  exercises  for  attack, 
resonance,  flexibility  and  splendid  vocalizzi  also 
received  marked  attention ;  and  he  was  most  particular 
that  every  arpeggio  and  roulade  be  absolutely  "clean 
cut"  and  the  attack  sure.  Fervor,  aplomb  and  spon- 
taneity, he  also  considered  essential  to  good  singing, 
and  frequently  mentioned  those  three  words  in  his 
instructions.  "Let  your  audiences  know  you  are  glad 
you  are  alive,"  was  one  of  his  naive  expressions,  and 
"do  not  precipitate  the  time,  nor  slide  into  pitch,  as 
many  commonly  do,  but  in  pitch  and  time,  let  the 
words  of  your  song  come  out  like  a  bullet  out  of  a 
gun."  He  instructed  me  in  Spanish,  most  of  the  time, 
and  how  delightful  it  was  to  hear  his  beautiful  Spanish 
in  his  vocal  theories  and  original  expressions!  Correct 
pronunciation  and  faultless  articulation  were  almost 
an  obsession  with  him;  the  result  being  that  the 
Michelena  pupils  are  noted  for  these  qualities.  A  critic 
once  wrote  "It  is  a  pleasure  to  hear  the  Michelena 
products,  because  among  other  qualities  of  correct 
voice  production,  every  word  they  sing  is  understood 
and  whether  they  sing  in  English  or  the  foreign 
languages,  every  word  is  perfectly  pronounced."  How 


UNDER  FERNANDO   MICHELENA  17 

many  there  are,  even  among  otherwise  splendid 
singers,  who  will  poorly  pronounce  the  double  r  (rr) 
also  the  t,  d  /and  short  e,  especially  in  the  foreign 
languages;  for  example,  where  the  e  is  short  as  in 
"get,"  they  will  pronounce  it  ay  as  in  "day."  And 
when  singing  in  English,  how  often  are  the  ts  so  poorly 
articulated  that  they  sound  like  ds,  and  the  vowel 
u,  instead  of  giving  it  its  forward  sound  of  oo,  is 
smothered  back  of  the  larynx ;  while  with  many  if  the 
double  r  has  been  mastered,  their  single  r  suffers, 
inasmuch  as  they  go  to  the  other  extreme  of  convert- 
ing r  into  rr.t  Speaking  of  the  pronunciation  of  r, 
Michelena  never  allowed  his  pupils  to  use  the  Parisian 
r  when  singing  in  French,  calling  it  an  innovation  in 
the  French  language  which  the  best  French  singers 
disregard  (in  song)  and  taught  them  to  sing  their 
French  with  the  purer  r  of  the  provencal  and  Breton 
pronunciation,  the  suggestion  of  g  in  the  Parisian  r 
he  considered  detrimental  to  pure  pronunciation ;  the 
same  fault  he  found  with  the  German  r  (in  song)  which 
also  has  a  suggestion  of  g,  and  which  the  best  German 
singers  also  discard,  but  unfortunately  frequently  con- 
vert into  the  double  r  instead  of  keeping  to  the  pure 
single  r ;  thus  often  will  we  hear  singers  pronounce  the 
name  Maria  as  though  it  were  spelled  Marria,  and 
the  Latin  word  "miserere"  as  though  it  were  spelled 

•jThere  are  a  few  instances,  such  as  when  r  occurs  at  the  be- 
ginning of  a  word,  when  it  may  be  "rolled"  like  the  double  r, 
but  not  invariably. 


18  FIVE   YEARS   OF   VOCAL   STUDY 

miserrerre.  Also  the  double  consonants  should  not  be 
disregarded,  thus  pp,  tt  or  11  should  be  given  their 
value,  and  not  pronounced  as  though  they  were  p, 
t  or  1.  This  is  especially  important  in  the  pronuncia- 
tion of  the  Italian  language,  as  every  Italian  scholar 
knows  well. 

The  Spanish  and  Italian  languages,  Michelena  con- 
sidered the  best  for  song,  because  of  the  consistency  of 
their  pronunciation,  and  open  vowel  sounds,  although 
he  maintained  that  all  languages,  when  well  pro- 
nounced, were  perfectly  amenable  to  beautiful  song; 
and  also  maintained  that  the  five  vowels  a,  e,  i,  o,  u, 
being  the  same  in  every  language,  pronounced  proper- 
ly; namely,  a  (ah)  e  (short  as  in  get)  i  (ea  as  in  eat)  o 
(as  in  ought)  and  u  (as  in  oo)  and  the  consonants  well 
defined  and  not  jumbled,  there  was  no  reason  why 
the  gift  of  song  should  be  denied  to  any  language, 
only  admitting  that  the  Latin  races  have  produced 
more  singers,  because  of  their  natural  artistic  ten- 
dencies, but  also  because  a  lesser  number  of  impurities 
have  crept  into  their  languages. 

How  often  Michelena  would  instil  the  following 
theories  into  his  pupils:  "An  instrument  can  produce 
melody,  but  never  pronounce  a  word ;  only  the  human 
instrument  can  sing  both  melody  and  words;  if  every 
word,  then,  is  not  heard  by  the  listener,  well  pro- 
nounced and  clearly  articulated,  the  message  of  song 
is  lost,  for  singing  is  but  speaking  in  entonation; 
remember  you  are  singing  words  not  notes;  in  opera 


UNDER  FERNANDO   MICHELENA  19 

think  libretto,  not  musical  score,  and  the  same  with 
anything  else  you  sing.  This  of  course  does  not  mean 
the  disregard  of  pitch  rythm  and  nuances."  He  also 
taught  that  before  a  word  is  sung,  it  should,  so  to 
speak,  be  made  in  the  mind,  and  the  lips  adjusted  to 
the  shape  required  for  pronouncing  the  vowel  to  be 
sung,  and  the  adjustment  of  the  lips  should  not  be 
destroyed  as  soon  as  the  last  word  in  a  phrase  has 
been  sung,  but  kept  until  the  breath  has  gone  over 
the  vowel  or  consonant,  as  the  case  may  be.  The 
vowel  always  takes  the  value  of  the  note,  and  the 
words  should  be  given  their  correct  inflection  in  song 
as  well  as  in  speech.  Michelena  was  also  emphatic 
in  this:  that  singing  does  not  come  from  the  throat, 
but  from  the  whole  being  of  the  singer.  "It  is  not  your 
throat,  but  yourself  who  is  singing,"  he  would  say. 
While  sore  throat  and  congestion  in  the  vocal  appa- 
ratus and  nasal  passages  render  singing  impossible, 
for  these  organs  are  necessary  in  order  to  produce 
voice,  still  the  least  we  think  of  the  throat  and  the 
more  intelligence  we  put  into  our  song,  the  better. 
The  throat  is  only  capable  of  making  an  ugly  sound, 
but  the  breath  properly  manipulated  passing  through 
the  vocal  apparatus  produces  beautiful  voice;  while 
any  physical  effort  of  the  throat  produces  "throaty" 
and  "reedy"  voice.  The  meaning  and  true  expression 
of  what  is  sung  should  always  be  primarily  brought 
out,  and  the  feeling  and  personality  of  the  singer 
allowed   full  scope,  but  without  exaggeration.    "Put 


20  FIVE   YEARS   OF   VOCAL   STUDY 

your  soul  and  inner  consciousness  into  your  song," 
Michelena  would  say,  "and  remember  that  voice  is 
not  a  personality  as  some  would  make  it,  but  some- 
thing abstract  produced  by  an  action  of  the  will  with 
the  intellectual  and  physical  gifts  which  the  singer 
has  at  his  command;  hence,  technically  speaking, 
you  should  rather  say  'so  and  so  has  a  beautiful 
voice  production'  rather  than  'so  and  so  has  a  beautiful 
voice'  (or  poor  production  of  voice)  as  the  case  may 
be —  or  speak  of  the  aptitude  of  so  and  so  for  producing 
beautiful  voice." 

With  regard  to  the  necessity  of  intelligence  and 
brains  for  the  skillful  artist,  Michelena,  in  common 
with  every  artist,  insisted  that  these  gifts  were  of 
course  necessary,  and  remarked  that  the  British 
Museum  which  paid  sixty  thousand  pounds  for  the 
tiny  bone  of  the  larynx  of  the  great  Malibran,  would 
have  more  fittingly  paid  the  price  for  her  skull  which 
contained  her  brains. 

The  texture  of  the  vocal  ligaments  is  of  course  what 
determines  the  quality  of  voice;  the  coarser  the 
texture  of  the  ligaments,  the  graver  the  voice  pro- 
duction ;  the  finer  the  ligaments,  the  more  elastic  they 
are,  and  therefore  the  acuter  the  production  of  voice — 
hence  we  have  the  basso  profundo,  basso,  baritone 
serio,  brilliant  or  lyric  baritone,  robust  and  dramatic 
tenor  and  lyric  tenor  in  the  male  voice,  the  contralto, 
mezzo-soprano,  dramatic  soprano,  the  versatile  mezzo 
carater  or  dramatic  lyric  soprano,  the  lyric,  or  so- 


UNDER  FERNANDO   MICHELENA  21 

prano  leggero,  and  lyric  coloratura  in  the  female 
voice.  The  range  and  volume  of  the  human  voice  may 
certainly  be  increased — good  training  will  invariably 
do  that — but  the  quality  of  voice  will  never  change; 
that  is,  a  contralto  can  never  become  a  lyric  soprano, 
or  a  mezzo  soprano  a  coloratura,  any  more  than  a 
baritone  can  become  a  tenor.  This  may  sound  almost 
ridiculous  to  even  mention,  yet  teachers  have  been 
known  to  attempt  it,  and  permanently  injure  the 
vocal  ligaments  of  their  pupils  (or  rather  their  vic- 
tims). Many  teachers  there  are,  also,  who  seem  unable 
to  determine  the  quality  of  voice.  I  heard  one  naturally 
gifted  mezzo-soprano  say  that  her  teacher  was  unable 
to  tell  her  whether  she  was  a  mezzo  or  dramatic 
soprano;  fortunately  she  made  a  good  change  for  a 
teacher  who  was  able  to  determine  the  quality  of  voice. 
It  seems  to  me  that  even  a  "layman"  who  has  never 
studied  vocal,  could  tell  the  quality  of  a  voice  on 
hearing  it. 

Of  course,  Michelena  always  referred  to  the  notes 
as  do,  re,  mi,  fa,  sol,  la,  si;  and  this  method,  arranged 
since  the  twelfth  century  by  the  Italian  monk,  Guido 
of  Arrezzo,f  is  incomparably  superior  to  the  recent 
innovation  of  designating  the  notes  as  c,  d,  e,  f,  g,  a, 
b.  As  already  hinted  above,  Michelena  also  main- 
tained that  there  are  many  theories  and  expressions 
regarding  vocal,  as  technically  incorrect  as  our  com- 

fln  the  original  notation  of  Guido  of  Arezzo  "do"  was  referred 
to  as  "ut." 


22  FIVE   YEARS   OF   VOCAL   STUDY 

mon  saying  "the  sun  rises,"  and  "the  sun  sets;"  and 
especially  as  time  went  on,  under  his  tutelage,  one 
could  clearer  see  the  perfect  reasonableness  of  his 
theories.  I  remember  how  at  my  first  lesson  he  asked 
me  how  many  sounds  there  were  on  the  piano  I  was 
puzzled.  "But  one,"  he  said,  "namely,  the  sound  of 
the  piano;  but  how  many  notes?  Ah,  that  is  different; 
as  many  as  there  are  white  and  black  keys." 

One  thing  he  also  taught  me  at  my  very  first  lesson 
was  that  the  expressions  "high  voice"  and  "low  voice" 
are  far  from  correct;  acute  or  grave  voice  production 
being  far  more  technical,  as  well  as  the  expressions, 
"how  high  a  note  can  you  take?"  or  "how  high  can 
you  go  or  reach?"  are  absurdly  incorrect.  He  often 
expressed  it  thus:  "You  go  nowhere,  you  reach  no- 
where, you  take  nothing ;  but  you  make  a  certain  pitch." 
Therefore,  "how  acute  a  pitch  or  how  grave  a  pitch 
can  you  make?"  is  the  correct  expression.  Then  he 
would  explain,  "You  reach  for  something  when  you 
stretch  your  arm  out  to  get  it,  take  something  when 
you  lay  your  hand  on  it  and  draw  it  to  you,  and  go 
somewhere  when  you  walk,  also  you  strike  a  note  when 
you  play  it  on  the  piano  or  other  instrument,  but  in 
singing  you  do  none  of  these  things,  you  merely  make 
a  certain  pitch,  which  may  be  as  acute  or  as  grave  as 
you  are  able  or  willing  to  make." 

Another  expression  he  considered  incorrect  was 
"beat  time."  "We  do  not  beat  time,  we  compass  time," 
he  would  say,  and  used  the  expression  in  all  my  sol- 


UNDER  FERNANDO   MICHELENA  23 

feggio  exercises  which  he  taught  me  always  to  sing 
while  compassing  the  time. 

I  will  close  this  chapter  far  from  having  related 
many  things  Michelena  taught;  partly  because  I  am 
not  by  any  means  attempting  a  history  of  his  vocal 
method  in  the  real  sense  of  the  word,  partly  because 
so  many  things  are  difficult  to  explain  clearly  in 
writing;  but  I  will  add  one  more;  that  is  concerning 
the  mistaken  idea  some  people  have  about  what  they 
term  "powerful  voice"  and  "small  or  weak  voice," 
and  "such  a  voice  is  too  weak  to  fill  a  large  room,  but 
such  a  one  is  powerful  and  can  fill  any  hall  or  theatre." 
Now,  a  voice  may  be  powerful  yet  unresonant,  a  real 
'voce  di  legno"  as  the  Italians  correctly  put  it,  also  one 
may  have  a  powerful  voice  and  enunciate  extremely 
poor,  while  one  possessed  of  a  smaller  voice,  may 
enunciate  perfectly,  and  the  voice  production  be  res- 
onant and  clear,  such  a  person  can  surpass  the  more 
powerful  singer,  who  has  not  these  good  qualities,  any 
time  and  in  any  room,  whether  large  or  small;  but  let 
us  set  aside  this  comparison;  a  singer  need  not  have 
a  powerful  voice  to  be  heard  to  advantage  in  any 
room  no  matter  how  large,  provided  the  enunciation 
is  good  and  the  voice  production  resonant;  these  are 
the  qualities  that  have  the  "carrying  power,"  just 
as  the  softest  note  of  a  violin  or  piano  may  be  heard 
in  the  largest  room.  Of  course,  when  speaking  of  a 
weaker  or  less  powerful  voice,  we  mean  the  terms, 
comparatively  speaking,  with  regard  to  the  possibili- 


24      FIVE  YEARS  OF  VOCAL  STUDY 

ties  for  power  in  the  dramatic  soprano  and  contralto 
voices,  for  example,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  naturally 
less  powerful  lyric  and  lyric  coloratura  voices  on  the 
other,  and  not  a  "weak"  voice  production  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  word,  for  certainly  a  singer  must  have 
some  power  and  volume  to  be  a  good  singer. 

Now  another  notion  some  have  is  that  when  singing 
in  a  very  large  room  the  voice  production  must  be 
forced,  that  in  other  words,  the  singer's  strength  must 
be  taxed  and  an  extra  strain  put  on  the  vocal  appa- 
ratus. This  idea  is  absolutely  false;  under  no  circum- 
stances should  any  strain  be  put  on  the  vocal  ap- 
paratus, besides  being  injurious,  the  least  physical 
effort  on  the  throat  would  produce  an  ugly  voice, 
and  the  singer  should  sing  in  the  same  manner  and 
with  the  same  ease,  without  the  least  strain  on  any 
part  of  his  or  her  being,  whether  in  a  small  room,  or 
in  the  largest  theatre  or  auditorium. 

As  to  sympathy  and  intelligence,  they  are  so  essen- 
tial to  a  good  singer  that  they  can  hardly  be  separated 
from  true  art — in  fact,  art  can  no  more  thrive  without 
them  than  the  flowers  without  sun;  and  an  artist 
who  was  noted  for  his  rich  mellow  song,  and  gave  as 
one  great  reason  for  it  the  fact  that  he  had  sounded 
every  depth  of  human  sympathy,  was  certainly  cor- 
rect in  his  statement. 


UNDER   FERNANDO   MICHELENA  25 


VALUE  OF  VOICE  CULTURE 

Many  wonder  how  old  a  child  may  be  in  order  to 
begin  the  study  of  vocal;  also  many  will  absolutely 
forbid  a  young  child  to  sing  at  all.  In  answer  to  this 
I  will  say  that  Fernando  Michelena  always  said  that 
it  was  wrong  to  curb  the  natural  desire  of  a  child  to 
let  out  his  voice,  and  to  let  it  out  freely  at  that;  be- 
cause if  not  exercised,  the  vocal  apparatus  would 
become  like  any  other  part  of  our  being;  if  our  limbs 
are  not  exercised,  they  become  numb,  and  if  the  vocal 
apparatus  is  not  allowed  its  natural  exercise  in  song 
and  speech  the  same  thing  happens;  however,  he 
added,  that  if  a  child  is  a  genius  and  can  imitate  any 
aria  he  or  she  hears,  no  matter  how  difficult,  that  he 
or  she  should  not  be  allowed  to  do,  as  undue  strain  is 
then  the  result,  and  will  in  most  cases  injure  the  child's 
possibilities  for  after  life.  Michelena  often  spoke  of 
Emma  Nevada's  daughter,  who  could  warble  any- 
thing she  heard  her  mother  sing,  even  the  most  diffi- 
cult arias  with  all  their  trills  and  embellishments, 
and  this  at  seven  and  eight  years  of  age;  but  her  wise 
mother  would  not  allow  her  to  do  it,  with  the  result 
that  later  she  became  a  most  beautiful  singer.  But 
barring  the  exacting  arias  and  vocal  selections  which 
cannot  but  be  a  strain  on  the  child  to  sing,  a  child 


26  FIVE   YEARS   OF   VOCAL   STUDY 

should  be  encouraged  to  sing,  and  training  may  begin 
(if  it  be  under  a  very  careful  teacher)  at  eight  years 
of  age.  Serious  study,  of  course,  should  not  be  begun 
before  the  age  of  sixteen  or  eighteen. 

Michelena  sang  in  the  Catholic  Churches  of  his 
native  city  when  only  four  and  a  half  years  of  age; 
he  stood  on  a  table  while  singing,  as  the  choir  railing 
would  have  covered  him  and  prevented  his  singing 
from  being  properly  heard;  at  eight  he  began  his 
vocal  study  and  at  nine,  on  the  occasion  of  a  special 
feastf  on  July  sixteenth,  he  sang  the  soprano  parts  of 
the  Mass,  at  the  Cathedral  of  Caracas,  Venezuela. 
He  continued  singing  in  church  all  during  his  child- 
hood years,  and  his  vocal  apparatus  was  never  injured. 
In  the  case  of  a  boy,  all  vocal  study  should  be  sus- 
pended during  the  years  when  the  voice  production 
undergoes  a  change.  In  the  case  of  a  girl  no  change 
that  affects  the  vocal  apparatus  takes  place,  therefore 
study  may  be  uninterrupted,  although  many  teachers 
contend  differently,  but  it  should  be  undertaken  in 
an  extremely  careful  manner.  What  is  bad  for  either 
boy  or  girl  is  that  too  much  study  of  anything  should 
be  crowded  onto  them,  and  consume  their  strength 
and  energy.  For  this  reason,  too,  practise  periods 
should  be  brief  and  never  be  made  unpleasant.  Then, 
some  ask,  until  how  old  may  a  person  take  vocal 
instruction,  or  begin  vocal  instruction.  This  depends 

■jThe  feast  of  Our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel,  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  calendar. 


UNDER  FERNANDO   MICHELENA  27 

greatly  on  the  individuality  of  the  particular  person. 
There  are  cases  of  persons  who  did  not  begin  studying 
until  they  were  thirty  and  more,  and  yet  not  only 
became  beautiful  singers,  but  made  a  mark  profes- 
sionally. (However  it  is  a  pity,  when  an  earlier  op- 
portunity has  not  been  presented.) 

As  to  the  length  of  time  required  to  become  a  good 
singer.  Some  say  six  or  eight  years;  but  the  truth  is, 
some  have  acquired  in  five  years  what  others  have  not 
in  ten ;  others  have  begun  to  make  a  mark  profession- 
ally with  only  four  years  of  study.  Michelena  once 
said  he  had  had  experiences  with  pupils  who  at  their 
first  lesson  would  ask  him  if  he  did  not  think  that  in 
five  or  six  years  they  could  earn  four  hundred  dollars 
a  week  as  professionals  on  the  stage,  or  be  well  known 
teachers,  etc.  "How  can  I  tell,"  he  would  say,  "per- 
haps in  less  time  than  that,  they  may  become  splendid 
singers,  and  perhaps  never;  but  their  absurd  questions 
make  me  think — never,  as  they  do  not  evince  a  level 
head  or  artist  stuff."  The  time  required  for  becoming 
an  excellent  singer,  in  other  words,  is  when  the  intelli- 
gence of  the  student  grasps  the  principles  of  the  art  of 
song  and  puts  them  in  practise;  and  his  gift  for 
memorizing,  acquiring  languages,  pronouncing  and 
enunciating  well,  etc.,  has  greatly  to  do  with  helping 
him  toward  this  goal. 

It  must  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  no  singer  ever 
emancipates  him  or  herself  from  practise;  and  unless 
one  wishes  to  become  a  "has  been,"  one  has  to  keep 


28      FIVE  YEARS  OF  VOCAL  STUDY 

up  not  only  one's  practise,  but  in  touch  with  the  affairs 
of  the  "music  world,"  the  artists,  and  their  work. 
My  teacher  never  had  to  tell  me  to  subscribe  to  some 
of  the  musical  magazines,  nor  to  buy  the  collection  of 
records  I  have  slowly  acquired  of  the  best  artists  of 
the  reproducing  machines,  nor  many  other  details; 
neither  did  he  have  to  tell  me  to  go  to  the  first  class 
concerts,  operatic  or  theatrical  performances  (when 
I  had  the  opportunity)  and  not  copy  but  be  stimulated 
by  the  singing,  dynamics  or  artistic  work  of  others. 
My  common  sense  and  interest  in  my  work  would  tell 
me  that.  True,  my  teacher  would  mention  the  fact 
that  a  particularly  good  artist  or  performance  was 
coming  or  tell  me  of  some  excellent  new  Victor  record 
by  some  well  known  singer,  but  in  most  instances  I 
already  knew  about  it,  so  interested  was  I  in  my  work. 
And  any  intelligent  pupil  whose  heart  is  in  his  or  her 
work  should  think  of  these  details  without  having  to 
be  told  and  led  around  to  them  like  babies  beginning 
to  walk.  I  will  add  here,  that  one  of  the  most  beneficial 
things  we  have  at  our  command  are  the  records  of  the 
fine  artists  for  the  reproducing  machines,  provided  we 
have  not  a  cheap,  but  good  machine  that  will  do 
justice  to  the  reproduction  of  the  artist's  voice.  A 
useful  thing  for  a  vocal  student  to  remember  is  that  a 
person  who  knows  the  principles  of  correct  voice 
production,  in  other  words  one  who  has  studied  vocal, 
will  be  able  to  sing  resonantly  and  well  for  many  more 
years  than  one  who  never  studied;  also  the  regular 


UNDER  FERNANDO   MICHELENA  29 

habits  and  physique  of  a  person  have  greatly  to  do 
with  the  longevity  of  his  or  her  power  for  beautiful 
voice  production. 

Sensational  papers  and  uncharitable  (perhaps 
jealous)  people  love  to  expatiate  on  disedifying  things 
concerning  the  lives  of  professional  singers;  but  it  is 
a  known  fact  that  more  than  fifty  per  cent  of  these 
rumors  are  false,  and  in  truth,  freedom  from  dissipa- 
tion, proper  rest  and  diet  and  good  health  being 
essential  to  singers  and  especially  to  the  demands 
made  upon  the  energy  and  strength  of  professionals, 
little  time  is  left  for  the  truly  successful  singer  for 
anything  but  right  living,  at  least  as  far  as  freedom 
from  dissipation  is  concerned. 

Vocal  study  may  mean  a  great  deal,  not  only  to  a 
person's  happiness,  but  to  the  health  as  well,  hence 
it  is  unpardonable  to  discourage  anyone  from  study- 
ing vocal  or  in  any  way  mar  or  render  unpleasant 
their  practise  hours  or  their  study  in  general.  It  is 
always  either  the  one  who  has  never  studied  this 
beautiful  art  or  the  jealous  person  who  will  engage 
in  such  things;  and  what  we  must  remember  is  that 
only  the  criticism  of  well  established  professionals  or 
good  unbiased  singers  should  be  sought,  also  that 
everybody  has  possibilities,  some  may  have  more 
natural  aptitude  than  others,  but  there  is  a  possibility 
for  everyone,  and  the  mere  fact  that  a  person  loves 
song  and  yearns  to  become  a  beautiful  singer,  is  some 
sign  that  talent  is  there,  whether  latent  or  revealed. 


30      FIVE  YEARS  OF  VOCAL  STUDY 

And  lastly,  beware  of  the  biased  or  unsympathetic 
person,  for  had  many  a  celebrity  listened  to  such 
people,  they  would  never  be  where  they  are  today! 

As  to  health  in  relation  to  singing;  whatever  im- 
proves the  health,  improves  the  production  of  voice, 
vice  versa,  there  is  nothing  that  tends  to  improve 
the  health,  especially  weak  lungs  and  throats,  as 
vocal  study.  It  is  better  than  elocution  by  far,  and,  in 
fact,  if  taught  properly,  it  embraces  what  is  taught 
in  elocution  and  dramatic  art,  for  it  includes,  ex- 
pression, pronunciation,  articulation  and  acting,  and 
adds  the  gift  of  song  besides. 

One  of  the  chief  values  of  vocal  culture  is  correct 
breathing,  which  should  always  be  diaphramic.  Deep 
breathing  from  the  diaphram  is  invaluable  to  health 
and  song;  it  is  said  that  while  swimming  it  is  impos- 
sible to  breathe  incorrectly,  therefore  swimming  is  a 
good  exercise  for  singers;  but  violent  or  fatiguing 
exercises  should  be  eliminated  from  a  singer's  routine. 

With  regard  to  diet;  ices  and  indigestible  foods, 
also  foods  which  tend  to  irritate  the  membrane  of 
the  throat,  such  as  pepper,  nuts,  etc.,  should  be  dis- 
pensed with.  This,  however,  does  not  mean  that  a 
slight  indulgence  in  these  things,  when  one  is  not 
about  to  sing,  would  do  any  real  harm.  And  lastly, 
everybody  knows  that  singing  should  never  be  at- 
tempted immediately  after  a  meal. 


UNDER  FERNANDO   MICHELENA  31 


THE  AESTHETIC  PROPOSITION  IN  SINGING 

Grimaces  and  contortions  of  the  face,  as  well  as 
exaggerated  movements  of  the  body  are  most  rep- 
rehensible in  singing,  whether  in  opera  or  concert; 
but  this  must  not  be  confused  with  a  certain  graceful 
ease  which  puts  stiffness  to  flight,  nor  with  the  cor- 
rect interpretation  of  emotion;  while  a  cheerful 
countenance  is  always  to  be  desired;  but  stretching 
the  neck  and  arms,  and  even  standing  on  the  tips  of 
the  toes,  when  making  an  acute  pitch,  as  some  are 
known  to  do,  is  absurd,  and  conveys  the  idea  that  the 
Master  Michelena  scorned,  namely,  that  some  people 
imagine  they  are  "reaching  something  or  going  some- 
where" when  they  make  a  pitch ;  besides  if  they  stretch 
the  neck,  they  elongate  the  larynx,  making  the  pro- 
duction of  good  tone,  especially  in  an  acute  pitch, 
all  the  more  impossible.  The  more  difficult  the  vocal 
selection,  the  more  naturally  it  should  be  sung,  in 
reality  as  if  it  were  no  effort  at  all. 

Uncomfortable  clothing,  high  collars,  tight  lacing 
and  ill  fitting  shoes,  are  things  which  should  never 
be  indulged  in  by  singers;  especially  the  muscles 
around  the  throat  and  diaphram  should  be  perfectly 
free.  No  one  should  attempt  to  sing  in  public  when 
they  know  they  will  appear  under  some  real  dis- 


32  FIVE   YEARS   OF   VOCAL   STUDY 

advantage;  if  suffering  from  a  serious  cold  or  any 
other  ailment  which  will  render  good  singing  im- 
possible, nor  under  the  disadvantages  of  a  poor  ac- 
companist or  of  an  unpleasant  atmosphere,  etc.  It 
is  very  easy  for  others  to  coax  another  to  do  these 
things,  little  they  care  (as  long  as  they  are  accom- 
modated) under  what  disadvantages  an  adaptible 
and  good-natured  singer  is  placed,  and  little  appre- 
ciation is  shown  in  the  "long  run,"  for  a  singer  who 
can  be  "too  easily  gotten."  Numberless  times  have 
I,  through  accommodation  and  consideration,  sung 
at  various  benefit  performances  under  countless  dis- 
advantages of  some  kind  or  other  and  consented  to 
sing  in  programs  which  were  not  at  all  in  keeping  with 
my  teaching  and  possibilities,  simply  because  some 
"home  town"  people  pleaded;  and  yet  received  but 
small  appreciation;  hence,  after  these  experiences, 
I  have  learned  to  be  "on  my  guard"  against  coaxing, 
when  I  see  that  my  horizon  is  not  clear  of  disadvan- 
tages which  would  not  do  justice  to  the  training  I 
have  received.  By  this  I  do  not  mean  to  advocate 
meanness  of  disposition,  nor  to  disappoint  audiences 
for  trifling  disadvantages  which  are  apt  to  come 
many  times. 

The  training  of  the  master,  Fernando  Michelena, 
included  acting  and  whatever  else  went  with  artistic 
singing,  and  he  maintained  these  were  part  of  the 
vocal  teacher's  work;  for  acting  in  opera  or  concert 
is  nothing  more  than  the  true  and  simple  interpreta- 


UNDER   FERNANDO   MICHELENA  33 

tion  of  what  one  is  singing ;  whether  it  be  the  emotions 
of  fear,  anger,  love,  hatred  or  any  other.  Neither  he, 
in  spite  of  his  brilliant  career,  nor  his  pupils  who  have 
attained  distinction,  nor  many  other  celebrities,  ever 
found  it  necessary  to  take  lessons  in  dramatic  art, 
aside  from  their  vocal,  and  Michelena  scorned  the 
idea  of  sending  his  pupils  to  this  or  that  teacher  for 
"side  issues"  which  ought  to  be  included  in  the  vocal 
master's  work,  neither  did  he  believe  in  crowding  his 
pupils'  brains  with  numberless  set  rules,  and  damper- 
ing  their  individuality,  but  merely  guided  their  origin- 
ality along  the  proper  lines.  The  Michelena  pupils 
have  always  been  known  for  not  being  stereotyped, 
and  for  not  using  meaningless  gestures.  (I  do  not 
mean  intelligent  ones.)  Michelena  was  always  against 
copying  from  anyone  or  merging  one's  individuality 
into  another's  even  into  that  of  a  celebrity.  "Be 
yourself  always,"  he  would  say.  Once  after  a  brilliant 
opera  season  at  the  old  Tivoli  Opera  House  in  San 
Francisco,  a  benefit  performance  was  given  at  which 
someone  was  to  act  a  playful  caricature  imitating  the 
particular  gestures  and  mannerisms  of  the  principals  of 
the  company ;  and  it  was  found  that  Michelena  was  the 
hardest  to  imitate,  owing  to  the  fact  that  he  had  no 
particular  fad  or  mannerism  in  singing;  but  just  put  his 
natural  self  into  his  song  and  never  acted  a  part  in  any 
set  manner.  In  concert,  of  course  neither  costuming  nor 
acting  are  like  that  employed  in  opera,  however  the 
stereotyped  "concern  position"  need  not  be  entirely 


34  FIVE   YEARS   OF   VOCAL   STUDY 

adhered  to;  life,  ease  and  grace  with  some  display  of 
emotion  are  always  appreciated.  The  correct  standing 
position  in  singing  is  the  same  as  that  in  oratory ;  and 
of  course  the  etiquette  of  singing  requires  that  a 
singer  should  neither  leave  the  stage  nor  acknowledge 
the  applause  he  or  she  may  receive  until  the  accom- 
panist has  finished  playing  the  last  note  of  the  piece; 
which,  besides  being  a  courtesy  due  the  accompanist, 
adds  to  the  dramatic  or  artistic  effect  of  the  selection 
rendered. 

In  a  woman  a  becoming  gown  and  the  accessories 
of  flowers  or  a  fan,  etc.,  according  to  the  hour  of  the 
day  and  occasion,  are  attractive  additions  to  the 
aesthetic  proposition  of  her  singing;  for  while  these 
things  are  by  no  means  part  of  singing,  the  charm 
and  natural  refinement  of  the  singer  have  greatly 
to  do  with  the  pleasure  her  art  imparts,  and  the  ad- 
dress and  personality  of  the  individual  go  hand  in 
hand  with  his  or  her  song. 

I  will  say  here  that  Michelena  did  not  oblige  his 
pupils  to  study  operatic  roles.  The  pupil  was  at  liberty 
to  specialize  in  opera,  concert,  oratorio  or  in  whatever 
line  he  or  she  wished.  It  was  good,  beautiful  voice 
production,  with  the  language  well  pronounced, 
clearly  articulated  and  intelligently  sung  that  he 
primarily  aimed  at.  Michelena  was  also  extremely 
versatile  in  his  talents  and  tastes;  his  knowledge  of 
musical  compositions  was  not  confined  to  the  music 
of  the  Latin  countries,  but  the  music  of  Wagner, 


UNDER   FERNANDO   MICHELENA  35 

Mozart,  Brahms,  Schumann,  Grieg,  as  well  as  that 
of  the  Russian  masters,  was  most  intelligently  handled 
by  him;  he  was  a  linguist,  and  this  also  is  essential  to 
a  teacher  of  vocal;  or  at  least  a  good  working  know- 
ledge of  the  principal  foreign  languages  with  an  ab- 
solute mastery  of  their  pronunciation. 

Eccentricities  and  displays  of  so-called  tempera- 
ment, should  never  have  place  in  the  true  artist's  life. 
Real  feeling  and  temperament  do  not  show  themselves 
in  eccentricities  and  bursts  of  uncontrolled  temper; 
an  artist  need  be  no  different  than  any  other  normal 
human  being,  and  truth  to  tell,  the  greatest  among 
them  are  the  most  natural. 

His  operatic  roles  excepted,  it  was  in  the  Spanish 
Zarzuelas  and  folk  songs,  that  Michelena's  art  and 
originality  most  revealed  themselves;  he  rendered 
the  music  of  Spain  in  the  most  captivating  manner. 
When  before  the  great  San  Francisco  fire  he  sang 
many  of  the  Spanish  folk  songs  for  the  Edison  re- 
producing machine  (the  wax  cylinders  then  being 
the  only  ones  used  and  the  Victrola  then  being  un- 
known) his  records  were  sold  as  quickly  as  they  could 
be  supplied;  also  a  costume  recital  of  his  repertoire 
of  Spanish  songs  which  he  gave  at  the  old  Tivoli,  is 
still  remembered. 


36  FIVE   YEARS   OF   VOCAL   STUDY 


A  FEW  OBSERVATIONS  OF  THE  CHARACTER 
OF  THE  LATE  FERNANDO  MICHELENA 

FERNANDO  MICHELENA  was  born  on  his 
family  estate,  near  Caracas,  Venezuela,  of  dis- 
tinguished Spanish  parentage,  many  members  of  his 
family  are  celebrated  in  history,  in  the  branches  of 
art,  medicine,  literature  and  diplomacy;  and  he,  be- 
sides his  brilliant  career  in  Grand  Opera,  was  given  a 
decoration  from  his  Government  and  was  a  graduate 
of  the  University  of  Caracas.  His  achievements  in 
his  chosen  line  of  art  and  intercourse  with  distinguished 
singers  and  composers,  from  the  time  he  made  his 
debut  as  Don  Carlos  in  Donizetti's  "Linda  di  Cha- 
mounix"  at  the  age  of  twenty- three,  in  the  Royal 
Opera  House  of  Sicily,  just  after  he  was  graduated  from 
the  Conservatory  of  Milan  (where  he  was  sent  for 
three  years  to  finish  his  vocal  course)  would  fill  an 
interesting  volume;  yet  he  rarely  spoke  of  these 
things,  and  when  he  did,  it  was  in  a  "matter  of  fact 
way"  to  relate  some  amusing  anecdote  in  connection 
with  them.  "Comparisons  are  odious,"  but  one  cannot 
help  contrasting  the  conduct  of  the  masters  like 
Michelena,  with  the  countless  would-be  vocal  teachers 
who  so  quickly  flaunt  before  the  public  the  least  word 
of  commendation  they  may  have  engineered  to 
receive,    or    use    their    pupils    (sometimes    recently 


UNDER  FERNANDO   MICHELENA  37 

acquired  from  another  teacher)  to  advertise  them- 
selves; whereas  if  they  were  really  distinguished,  if 
aught,  it  should  be  the  other  way.  How  many  teachers 
who  advertise  themselves  as  vocal  masters,  were 
merely  musical  directors  in  some  Opera  Company, 
others  who  claim  to  have  belonged  to  this  or  that 
Opera  Company  were  merely  in  the  chorus,  and  with 
advertisement,  charging  a  high  price  for  their  doubt- 
fully beneficial  lessons  and  setting  up  a  so-called 
fashionable  studio,  etc.  captivate  the  inexperienced 
pupil!  Other  teachers  build  or  try  to  build  their 
reputation  by  criticism  of  other  teachers  and  singers, 
not  sparing  even  celebrities  in  their  absurd  remarks; 
of  course  well-founded  criticism  is  not  to  be  found  fault 
with,  but  the  criticism  referred  to  above,  is  the.  jealous 
or  unintelligent  criticism.  "A  sour  pickle  will  never 
make  an  artist,"  was  one  of  Michelena's  many  sayings ; 
and  a  happy  disposition,  open  and  free  from  pettiness 
and  especially  from  foolish  jealousy,  he  always  con- 
sidered inseparable  from  the  true  artist.  "See  that  you 
can  do  a  thing  right,  never  mind  who  else  cannot  do 
it,"  was  another  of  his  expressions.  His  was  a  kindly, 
charitable,  generous  and  simple  nature,  who  had  no 
room  for  foolish  pride,  pettiness  or  deception  of  any 
kind,  he  harbored  no  ill  will  toward  anyone,  and  was 
ever  glad  to  praise  another  teacher  or  singer  whenever 
he  felt  he  could  honestly  do  so.  He  was  also  possessed 
of  the  brilliant  gift  of  repartee,  and  like  most  artists 
was  not  in  the  least  commercial. 


38  FIVE  YEARS  OF  VOCAL  STUDY 

Michelena  had  little  use  for  advertisement  or  for 
speaking  of  his  distinguished  career.  Yet  real  worth 
is  always  recognized;  he  was  widely  known,  especially 
in  the  "music  world"  (even  his  funeral  bore  witness 
to  that)  and  excellent  press  reports  he  never  lacked, 
although  it  was  years  since  he  had  left  the  operatic 
stage,  after  which  he  established  himself  as  vocal 
master,  in  San  Francisco,  where  many  remember  his 
succession  of  triumphs  throughout  the  United  States, 
previous  to  which  he  had  won  laurels  in  Europe  and 
South  America. 

Whenever  I  hear  anyone,  especially  a  singer, 
flaunting  any  recognition  or  prone  to  pettiness  or 
inexpert  criticism  of  other  singers,  I  cannot  but  feel 
they  stamp  themselves  with  the  stamp  of  inefficiency, 
and  have  never  yet  been  mistaken. 

I  will  add  here,  that  I  have  been  asked  if  Fernando 
Michelena  was  the  sole  teacher  of  his  gifted  daughters. 
He  certainly  was  from  their  first  to  their  last  lesson; 
he  also  trained  several  other  prime  donne,  as  well  as 
excellent  non  professional  singers. 

Michelena  always  spoke  with  the  greatest  apprecia- 
tion of  his  teachers;  both,  of  his  first  boyhood  teacher 
in  Caracas  and  of  the  great  Varayi  with  whom  he 
studied  later  in  Milan,  and  this  is  something  else  which 
many  singers  forget  when  they  become  well  known; 
namely,  to  mention  the  painstaking  teacher  who 
imparted  to  them  their  knowledge,  but  not  so  with 
Michelena.  When  it  came  to  an  affectionate  remem- 


UNDER  FERNANDO   MICHELENA  39 

brance,  not  only  his  family,  his  teachers  and  friends, 
but  the  old  servants  of  his  boyhood  home  were  never 
forgotten.  How  really  great  characters  cherish  these 
memories!  As  we  have  previously  observed,  Michelena 
sang  in  the  church  choir  at  the  age  of  four,  and  at  the 
age  of  nine  he  first  sang  by  note  the  soprano  soli  of  a 
Mass  at  the  Cathedral  of  Caracas,  on  July  sixteenth 
1867;  he  always  affectionately  recalled  the  day,  and 
looked  upon  it  as  the  day  of  his  debut.  From  the  child 
who  sang  in  the  church  choir  at  the  age  of  four  until 
he  passed  away  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  his  voice  was 
never  hushed ;  he  gave  lessons  until  the  day  before  he 
died  from  a  sudden  apoplectic  stroke  which  took  him 
within  a  day,  and  always  took  the  greatest  pleasure  in 
his  work.  After  a  Requiem  High  Mass  from  St.  Mary's 
Cathedral,  San  Francisco,  his  remains  were  laid  to  rest 
in  Holy  Cross  Cemetary  with  all  the  rites  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  And  what  an  impressive 
funeral  it  was!  A  fitting  testimony  of  the  esteem  in 
which  a  singer,  teacher  and  generous  friend  was  held 
by  members  of  many  professions  and  stations  in  life. 


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